Hi Lisa. I've been a member of dailystrength but since they changed it I can't seem to learn how to use it any more. I can't even figure out where to go to post. I decided to look for another group for arthritis and googled it. It led me right back to here but I googled osteoarthritis instead of just arthritis so it led me to your group. I joined. I can't believe there hasn't been any posts since last year. I am having the most trouble in my feet. I work in retail and it's a real problem. I have some degenerative disks and I have it in my hands and my left thumb and wrist. But my feet are what gives me the most trouble. When I sit, even for a few minutes, my back and feet are so stiff I can hardly walk. And getting out of bed is misery. I've bought every kind of shoe and insert on the market but there is nothing that is really comfortable. For some time I took celebrex and meloxicam, switching back and forth trying to get relief. I finally went back to the doctor and complained about the stiffness and he gave me some samples and a prescription for Duexis. Well that stuff is $1,700 hundred dollars. Needless to say, that was out although I took some of the samples and it was remarkable. It helped with the first couple of pills. Would you believe that Duexis is nothing but a combination of 4 ibuprofen and a pepcid.? I did wonder if I could just take 4 ibuprofen over the counter and a pepcid and it would work. It just seems like a lot of ibuprofen at one time. So I called him and he prescribed Diclofenadc (generic for voltarin) and Prilosec along with it. I took it for a week and the whole week my stomach felt a little weird and it grumbled all the time. Finally on Sunday after taking it for a week, My stomach started cramping really bad that afternoon and all night, going to the bathroom . The next morning there was blood in my stool and scared me to death. I didn't go to the doctor, just waited and it was gone by that afternoon and haven't seen any sense but I just stopped taking anything except Tylenol. Helps a little but does nothing for inflamation and I don't want to take a lot of that either because of liver damage. Today I gave up and took one of the Duexis. I had eight left and decided I may as well have a week of relief. I may start taking the other one again later. I'm still not completely sure that it was the medicine that caused the cramping and the blood. I also have diverticulosis but have never had a real attack. That could have been an attack of diverticulitis. I went on a bland diet after the episode and it finally got better. I'm also thinking that maybe I should just go back on celebrex or meloxicam. It didn't have any side effects for me that I could tell. So that's my story. I know I'm rambeling but maybe somebody has had the same problems and can relate how they are dealing. Hoping to get replies from this group as I very seldom got any from the other one.

I was just curious to know if u know about patient assistance with prescription meds???? I dont know ure income nor am I asking for that info cause thats none of my business.... But just a suggestion... patient assistance usually goes by your income i think with every drug company it may be different on their income level but dont quote me for sure.... I think what you can do is ask your drs office they have a form for that or at least can tell u the company in which makes the one medicine that helped u that was expensive......

Hi Lisa. I probably couldn't get patient assistance. I do have insurance. I'm 68 and have Medicare and Medicare part D to cover my medicine so I doubt if I could get help. I know that my doctor contacted my insurance and they ok'd the prescription but it would be teir 4 I think, which would mean I would have to pay a certain percentage of the total amount which would still be several hundred dollars. And at that price, I would go in the "doughnut hole" in just a few months and I would have to pay the total amount then till it reached a certain amount. Can't afford that. We are not poor but not wealthy either. My insurance sent me a letter and told me the details and said I should ask the doctor for another medicine, which I had already done. That;s the one that I took and had the episode with my stomach. I should have gone back I guess. I'm going to try to get by with just tylenol if I can. I'm sort of afraid to take anything now. I may try to take one of the prescriptions from time to time if I'm really hurting. I just have such a hard time walking. I work four days a week and hope to keep working. I work in retail and I stand all day. Not good for my feet. I've tried every shoe and every insert but nothing really feels good. I really need to work.